Singaporean medical technology firm Aevice Health and the National University Health System have announced their partnership to conduct a clinical trial of the former's wearable respiratory monitor.

The AI-powered wearable stethoscope AeviceMD remotely detects and records chest sounds at the same time. The sounds are then analysed and translated into heart rate and respiratory rate measurements while flagging abnormalities such as wheezing.

WHY IT MATTERS

NUHS noted that one in five children in Singapore has asthma, one of the most prevalent chronic diseases affecting 14% of children worldwide. The condition can be "difficult to manage" when children are not able to communicate their symptoms or realise they are experiencing them, leading to "under-diagnosis, under-treatment and inadequate control of the disease".

The healthcare group, through its Centre for Innovation in Healthcare, will investigate the use of AeviceMD in detecting wheezing, one of the key signs of asthma, in children patients with breathing difficulties at the National University Hospital. It already recruited participants in September and is targeting to finish the study by the second quarter of 2022. 

Dr Michael Lim, the study's principal investigator, said the respiratory monitor by Aevice Health "can potentially enhance remote patient monitoring and may be useful in situations such as the current COVID-19 pandemic where there is a need to minimise contact with patients.

The NUH senior consultant also pointed out that its "ability to detect abnormal lung sounds may also find usefulness in homes to identify wheezing early in children and allow for prompt attention by the caregiver".

THE LARGER TREND

Aevice Health is also researching and developing a predictive model for asthma attacks in paediatric patients using a wearable continuous monitoring device. 

In other news, the company in June secured over $2 million in a pre-Series A funding round joined by Toho Holdings and SEEDS Capital of Enterprise Singapore, among others. The proceeds from the investing event were set aside for the development of its respiratory monitoring solution and its entry into Japan. Aevice Health has entered into a strategic partnership with medical products wholesaler Toho Holdings to market AeviceMD in Japan.

ON THE RECORD

"This study will further validate AeviceMD’s value to providers and patients by empowering the detection of lung sound abnormalities objectively, continuously, and remotely to further bridge the gap between providers and clinicians," said Aevice Health CEO Adrian Ang.

"The use of AeviceMD as a novel remote respiratory monitor can unlock insights beyond the hospital for providers to better understand factors leading up to an exacerbation to allow for more tailored and patient-centred outcomes. We are excited by how the use of the AeviceMD can enhance the way chronic respiratory diseases [are] being treated and understood," he added.